


The Times Byleth Tried to Help Edelgard Relax (and How That Turned Out)

by ImNotAMarySue (writethatdownpls)



Series: Us, our obliviousness, and the people who had to bear with us [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (just for like a week but yeah they are girlfriends), Byleth is the cheesiest person ever, Claude says hi, Crimson Flower Route, Did I say fluff? Byleth is In Love, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Hubert von Vestra should chill, LITERALLY, Sleepy Cuddles, Stalking out of worry (ehem Hubert ehem), background ferdibert, everyone needs to chill, oh and there is a rat but don't worry it will live another day, she only has eyes for edelgard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24076153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writethatdownpls/pseuds/ImNotAMarySue
Summary: Byleth had thought Edelgard didn’t like her back, and that had been it. She REALLY had thought that. And apparently Edelgard had thought exactly the same. Who would have guessed it?(Apparently, half of Garreg Mach. They had actually guessed it. Not Caspar. Caspar still couldn’t believe they were dating. An angel.)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Us, our obliviousness, and the people who had to bear with us [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736944
Comments: 8
Kudos: 91





	The Times Byleth Tried to Help Edelgard Relax (and How That Turned Out)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! Hi!! Hi!! Hi!! Hello!!
> 
> This is... something. Something I started writing just after posting my last oneshot (The Three Times Linhardt Tried to Take a Nap). This oneshot happens in the same timeline (just about a week later of the events of the other one) but you really don't have to read the other oneshot to understand what's going on in this one. I made sure of that. You just have to know Linhardt is quite tired of them lesbians (Byleth and Edelgard). 
> 
> I'm not as proud of this one?? But my friends liked it so I said "okay mAYBE it's okay to post it". And here we are. Enjoy the wlw content (I think) you deserve, my friend.
> 
> (Oh, I'm not an English native speaker but FOR ONCE this is kind of betaed. Thanks Dorian / @artsystargazer you're the best.)

It had been a week since the Empress of the Adrestian Empire and her former teacher had started dating. A week! 

You could have told that to Byleth a week before and she wouldn’t have believed you. How could have she been  _ so blind _ ? She had thought Edelgard didn’t like her back, and that had been it. She REALLY had thought that. And apparently Edelgard had thought exactly the same. Who would have guessed it?

_ (Apparently, half of Garreg Mach. They had actually guessed it. Not Caspar. Caspar still couldn’t believe they were dating. An angel.) _

And now they were together. Just like that. They held hands in public. They kissed each other (their first kiss had been that night in the library, once they were alone. It had been nice, so  _ nice _ , so soft, gosh,  _ Byleth liked Edelgard so much _ ). Caspar and Bernadetta turned a deep shade of red every time they were a little bit affectionate in front of them.

_ (Two angels!) _

But who could blame them for being so clingy with each other? At least Byleth felt as if she was on top of the world. Like she was walking through the sky. Like she was punching Rhea’s dragon face again and again every second that went by. Pure bliss.

_ (Actually, if their relationship actually reached Rhea’s ears at some point it would be basically the same as if Byleth AND Edelgard were punching her in the face. _

_ IF Rhea even had ears. Byleth hadn’t found a single person that could corroborate that. Yet.) _

And yes, they were in the middle of the war. And yes, they were two days away from setting out towards Derdriu. And Byleth? She was worried. But Edelgard? She was even  _ more  _ worried. And cuddles and being clingy seemed to work with the Empress. To make her… de-stress a little bit. At least for some minutes.

“Hey, El,” Byleth whispered by the Empress’ ear, hugging her tightly from behind.

“Hmm,” was the only sound that came out of her mouth. If she even had opened her mouth. Byleth didn’t believe so.

“You should relax your shoulders. Your back is going to hurt later.”

“Oh,” Edelgard relaxed them immediately. “Sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“I can guess as much. But why are you apologizing?”

“I… don’t know,” she sighed. Byleth tried to guess what her girlfriend ( _ her girlfriend! _ ) was looking at, exactly. 

They were by the pond, at the docks. The two of them standing there, Byleth hugging her from behind, chin resting on Edelgard’s shoulder. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, not with Byleth being slightly taller than her, but it was okay. It was nice. She had chosen that position. She liked to be like this. And also, Byleth knew that kind of hugs comforted Edelgard.

_ (Seeing how the Empress had slowly but steadily let herself be attached again to someone, to her… It was just wonderful. A miracle. She still had a long way to go, their relationship had just taken a big step forward, and they had a lot ahead of themselves, both regarding the war and their own future… if they had a future, to begin with. _

_ But Byleth liked to think they had one. She would make sure the Empire won the war. For El.) _

Edelgard seemed to have her eyes fixed on the shadow of a pretty big fish. If Byleth’s great experience fishing on that same point didn’t deceive her, it was a Teutates Pike. 

“We haven’t fished together, have we?” Asked Byleth. Maybe choosing a random topic would help Edelgard to get her mind drifting towards not-so-worrying topics, as Byleth was feeling how her shoulders were gradually stiffening again.

“No. We haven’t.”

“We could do it. Someday.”

“Someday?”

“If you want to, of course. It’s quite relaxing, you know, El?” hummed Byleth in a sweet voice.

“I don’t think I would be good at it.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I have never tried. I don’t even know how a fishing rod works. Don’t really like water either.”

“Not swimming?”

“Definitely not swimming.”

“That’s why you think fishing wouldn’t be your thing?”

“Hmmn,” again, closed mouth, but that was an affirmative answer.

“Well, it’s not that difficult. And it’s never too late to learn,” Byleth changed a little his position to reach for Edelgard’s hands and squeeze them.

“Swimming or fishing? Because I know how to swim.”

“I was talking about fishing.”

“Oh. But we could be dead in three days,” was Edelgard’s response.

Ah, there it was. Again.

“We could. But we’re not going to. Not you, not me, not a single person here. Not when I’m here. Now, you really should—”

“But what if I lose you  _ again _ ?” Edelgard interrupted, suddenly turning towards Byleth. She looked at her straight in the eye, the most serious Byleth had seen her in a while. “I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t lose me,” said Byleth calmly. “And if I were to disappear, I would come back again, probably. You know I’m that kind of pain in the ass. And also, I wouldn’t be able to bear not kissing you ever—”

“You’re not a pain in the ass,” Edelgard interrupted. Byleth scoffed, feigning outrage.

“To Rhea? You can bet I am.”

“Well— if you put it like that—”

"Plus, if you think about it—" Byleth started. "If you're so afraid of losing me, why don't you stop lamenting and try to make the most of our time together?" 

"That's—" Edelgard opened her mouth and closed it a few times, trying to find a way to counter that. But she couldn't. She really couldn't, "that's actually true, I guess. These days we should make the most of the time we're not spending on preparing for battle and talking about war." 

"That's right, El," Byleth felt how a small smile curled on her lips. That had started happening quite a lot when she was with Edelgard. Sometimes she could swear that her heart was beating and all, although that was impossible. But for Edelgard? Byleth would  _ order  _ her own heart to beat, and her heart would have no other choice but  _ obey.  _

"We really should we having fun. Yeah," Edelgard recognized, a small chuckle coming out of her lips. “Right now, actually—” she left the words hanging.

"Yeah? Which kind of fun did you have in mind?" Byleth closed the distance between them, just a few inches between their faces, and reached for the Empress' hands, caressing the soft fabric of her gloves. 

"Oh, you know—" Edelgard started. "Something like— THIS!" 

And as she said that, Edelgard grappled Byleth's arms and shoved her to the side, making her lose her balance and ultimately falling into the pond. 

But the thing was, that didn't get to happen. 

Just as Byleth was falling, before breaking the surface of the water, she activated her Divine Pulse as a reflex. 

And there she was again, just seconds before, about to reach for Edelgard's hands.

"Oh, you know—" Edelgard started. Again. But before she could continue, Byleth took the initiative. 

"Something like this?" And instead the former teacher reached for Edelgard's shoulders, resting her hands on them, and closing the short distance that was between the two of them. 

A sweet kiss on the Empress’ lips. It wasn't deep, but it lasted. Edelgard tensed for a second and then she let herself be carried away by the movement of their lips, humming softly. 

Byleth was the one who broke the contact, leaving a closed-eyed Empress with a sigh still on her mouth. 

Oh, and then she grappled Edelgard's shoulders and she  _ definitely  _ shoved her to the side, making her lose her balance and ultimately falling into the pond with a short and surprised scream. 

_ (Yep. She definitely had to do it.) _

But Byleth didn't wait even a second to throw herself behind her girlfriend, making even a bigger splash than expected. 

Just as she opened her eyes under the clear water of Garreg Mach’s pond, she saw Edelgard breaking the surface, as she screamed that loud  _ "BYLETH!".  _

And then, a VERY noisy splash that most likely scared away every fish in the pond. 

_ (Huh. Edelgard must have been so surprised to hit the water in such a strong way. Or she REALLY hated to have to swim.) _

Byleth broke the surface with the hint of a smile on her lips. Edelgard was still blinking, trying to get the water out of her eyes, her delicate buns already in disarray. 

"BYLETH," she repeated, sounding outraged. But not really outraged. There was a cackle hiding behind the name. Byleth could hear it. 

"What? Are you gonna tell me that wasn't what you were going to do?" Byleth teased. 

And Edelgard gaped. Because it was true. Of course it was true. Byleth had  _ lived  _ it. 

"Oh, shut up," but the Empress was already smiling. “You use your mind-reading powers against the enemy. In battle. Not me! Nope. Don’t give me that smile.”

“But you’re swimming. You don’t like swimming.”

“Well—”

“Just now, look. I look down, you’re moving your feet to keep you up.”

“This is  _ not _ swimming.”

_ (To be fair, Edelgard was right. That wasn’t swimming, exactly.)  _

“And I guess  _ not-swimming _ isn’t that terrible if you’re with me, right?”

“Well—” Edelgard said again, looking up, trying to think of an answer. “I guess it’s not that bad. If it’s with you it’s definitely  _ not-swimming _ .”

“Still. You started this. You were gonna  _ make me swim _ , and probably you would have jumped right after me, despite everything,” Byleth pushed up and down her eyebrows a couple of times. Edelgard let herself fall a little bit deeper into the pond, but Byleth could see her red cheeks.

_ (Oh, got her.) _

“Oh, really,  _ shut up _ .”

"Shut  _ me _ up," was Byleth's only answer. 

And oh, Edelgard did it. She made sure of shutting Byleth up. Hands on her cheeks, she gently pulled the two of them under the water again. 

Who could have told Byleth that underwater kisses were actually pretty cool?

  
  


\---

  
  


Derdriu's conquest had gone as smoothly as Byleth had assured Edelgard again and again before the battle. On top of that, they hadn't even had to kill Claude, which was nice. More than nice. The members of the Golden Deer house that had transferred to the Black Eagles at some point in the past couldn't be happier, that too. 

_ (Lysithea's sigh of relief had been one for the ages. Lorenz tried to not-look-so-happy and failed. Marianne was almost crying. And so on with the rest, really. What a bunch of people, the remnants of the Golden Deer.) _

Neither Byleth nor Edelgard enjoyed spilling blood, after all. If they had to fight an old classmate… definitely spilling their blood was a last resort. 

"Oh, and," Claude started before finally mounting again his wyvern to go to only the Goddess knew where. He had really come back after the battle, risking everything to talk to  _ them _ . Just… Claude, "congrats on your relationship. I called it. I did it, right Hilda?" 

"Yes, he did," Hilda rolled her eyes, already mounted on the wyvern. She hadn't been as lucky as Claude, and had taken a severe beating before the battle had ended. But she would recover. Yep. Byleth was sure of that. 

_ (Hopefully.) _

"Wait. How—?" Edelgard started. 

"News spread fast. And also, you had to be  _ blind _ or  _ deaf  _ to not see or hear… well,  _ you _ ," Claude snorted, finally getting onto his wyvern. “Like, back in the day. Damn, you were so obvious…”

_ (Well, Byleth and Edelgard had been both blind and deaf for quite a while. What a surprise. Thanks for pointing that out, Claude. Byleth really appreciated it.) _

"Wait— Wait," Edelgard stammered. "News spread fast?" 

"Oh, yeah. I obviously wasn't there when it reached Rhea and Dimitri, but  _ boy, Rhea went CRAZY _ , if I have to trust their letter—" 

" _ What—  _ Wait. How? Already?" Edelgard opened her mouth, clearly astonished. 

Byleth was enjoying it, though. Just by imagining it—

"Oh, please, tell us about that," Byleth asked just right after. 

"Oh, it was  _ priceless,  _ if what I've been told is true," Hilda intervened, managing to smile despite the severe pain she probably was under right then. Ouch. 

"Of course it had to be. Probably will go down in history and all," Claude added, another smile on his lips. "And no, Edel, fuck me if I know how it reached them. But you're not exactly subtle, you know? And I'm not talking about spies. Merchants talk. A lot."

"But it's— It wasn't— It hasn't been— Two weeks?!" Edelgard stammered. 

"And I heard it from a merchant. Really, the news  _ fly.  _ And you know who's also flying? This good boy right here," and he patted the wyvern's neck. The animal immediately opened its wings and took off as Claude screamed, "bye-bye! Thanks for not killing us! Good luck, and we'll see each other again! INVITE ME TO YOUR WEDDING!" 

And that had been it. Luckily for Edelgard, Byleth was the only one present right then. Her image would have ended up (even more) ruined just by the face she was making, sheer astonishment with a thin layer of outrage. 

When their two old classmates finally disappeared into the horizon, however, Edelgard began to laugh. 

"Goddess, this—" she couldn't stop her laugh, "Rhea has to be  _ so SO  _ pissed—"

It was nice to see and hear her laugh. So, so nice. Byleth could live the rest of her life just hearing that sound and nothing else. 

When they got back to Garreg Mach they celebrated. Yes, for once what they had done felt like an actual victory. There was still a lot of bureaucracy to be done, but to hell with that. At least for that night. The next day would be another day. 

"You've done well. You all have definitely done well," repeated Edelgard for the nth time that night. Byleth would have suspected that her girlfriend was a little bit drunk, but that wasn't possible. She didn't drink. At all. That night wasn't an exception. She was drinking water. 

_ (But somehow she sounded kinda drunk. Maybe she was drunk on happiness?)  _

“Now, now, El, you’ve also done well,” said Byleth in a sweet voice. Edelgard looked at her, her eyes a little glassy.

“Oh, Byleth, you’re  _ so beautiful _ ,” she said in a loud voice.

Dorothea made a loud “awww” in front of them. Caspar almost choked on his food. Petra’s eyes opened like big windows. Ferdinand coughed  _ very  _ on purpose and grew red. Linhardt stood up at the other end, said “NO,” and took his leave.

_ (At least Bernadetta had retired earlier that night. _ )

Even Byleth could feel herself growing a little bit red.

“Hey, El, you’re tired, yeah? Maybe you should go to sleep.”

“I’m not tired. I’m in love.”

“WOW,” said Dorothea out loud. Linhardt hadn’t left the dining hall yet, so they all were able to hear his  _ groan _ .

“One thing does not exclude the other,” Byleth said as calmly as she could. Something difficult around Edelgard, being calm.

Edelgard didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. Byleth could feel how every eye on the dining hall was on them. Well, if someone didn’t know they were dating, now they knew.

_ (Although probably everyone knew. Rhea knew. Fuck Rhea.) _

“El—” but just as Byleth started talking again, Edelgard turned her head and downed the entirety of her goblet, which was still pretty full of water.

And then, she started coughing.

“El!” Byleth leaned forward and started patting her chest, trying to get her to breathe. The people around them jumped on their seats, some gasped, some even screamed.

But Edelgard quickly recovered her composure and started to breathe normally again.

“Sorry— Too much water— Don’t worry about me, it just— went the other way—”

“Yeah. I can see that,” Byleth said, but she could see how around them the people hadn’t relaxed, not even a little bit.

_ (Although some had started looking at something  _ else _. Not them. Not anymore. But Byleth only had eyes for Edelgard.) _

“Maybe I should go to sleep.”

“You should,” just then Byleth realized she was gripping Edelgard’s hand.

“Come with me,” the Empress didn’t even ask, though it didn’t sound quite like an order.

“Of course,” Byleth didn’t have objections to that. Not at all. 

They stood up almost at the same time. Byleth still grasping Edelgard's hand, they together exited the dining hall. 

"I'm okay, you don't have to look so worried…" said Edelgard about a minute later. Byleth was aware that they were walking towards the greenhouse area.

"You scared me."

"It was just water…" 

"Could have been poison."

"Well— It wasn't. After all, you know about all the tests everything we eat and drink have to pass…"

"I know, but—" 

“Hey, aren’t you the one who’s always trying to make me stop worrying?” Interrupted the Empress. 

Huh. Well, well, it that wasn’t Edelgard paying her back…

“You’re right. Sorry. Hey, by the way, where are we going?” Byleth had somehow supposed they were going to the pond. They went to the pond quite frequently since they had started dating formally. It was kind of their place. 

_ (No, she wasn’t really thinking they were going to the dormitories.) _

But they had just went past the pond. They were in front of the greenhouse and turning towards the second floor of the dormitories.

“I was… Ehm…” The light of the crescent moon could have been deceiving Byleth, but she could swear that her Empress was blushing. “You could come with me. To my room.”

“Oh.”

Blood rose to Byleth’s cheeks.

“Oh, well, yeah. I could do that—”

“I-I wasn’t thinking of doing… anything. I… Gosh, sorry. I just want your company. And… and maybe…”

Byleth waited patiently for her to finish her sentence. They hadn’t even stopped walking, although they were walking more slowly now.

“Cuddles,” Edelgard finally uttered a few seconds later. “I want cuddles.”

Oh. Oh.

Byleth almost laughed. It was the first time her girlfriend had asked for cuddles. Sure, they had kind of cuddled during their short time together. But those had been closer to fleeting touches than to actual cuddle sessions. They had been quite busy recently, for starters. There hadn’t been much time for cuddles.

_ (Which was sad, if you thought about it.) _

“That, I can certainly give you,” Byleth said as she squeezed Edelgard’s hand.

  
  


\---

  
  


You see, Hubert had one objective. Had always had a single objective in his life.

_ “Kiss me?”  _ Ferdinand’s  _ very annoying _ voice said from the back of his mind. Hubert brushed it off immediately. Not time to think about dumb tea-lovers. Very dumb tea-lovers that weren’t at all attractive. At all.

No. His only objective had always been protecting Lady Edelgard from everything and everyone, from every threat or danger.

And right there and then, Hubert was not at all sure of Byleth’s nature in that aspect. 

_ (And… in any aspect, really. She was a real mystery. Hubert didn’t like that at all.) _

Hubert had been aware of the crush his Empress had had on their previous teacher. Painfully aware, actually. He had harbored the hope of it being just a temporary crush. Something that would go away, sooner rather than later. 

He had threatened Byleth, once. Pretty soon after the mercenary had been assigned as their teacher. Byleth had just shrugged and had continued with whatever she had been doing, not at all scared, apparently. 

Not scared. Of Hubert. That was a new one. 

Now, of course Byleth was helping the Adrestian Empire… in appearance, at least. She commanded the Black Eagle strike force, didn't she? Had been there, at every reunion, every meeting, and was helping them win. 

Or wasn't she? 

You see, Hubert was still unable to grasp the nature of Byleth. Her thoughts, her intentions. It was too… unclear. As unclear as her own origin. And it was quite suspicious of her to disappear for almost 5 years and then come back as if it was nothing. Couldn't she be a spy? Couldn't it be all a major plot to destroy them from the inside? 

Of course, a plot such as that one would require the full trust of the Empress. If Byleth managed to romance Edelgard, make her fall in her tangled web— That was it for the Empire. 

But sure, Hubert wanted to give her room. Well, no, that wasn't really it. He didn't want to, but Edelgard wanted to. She hadn't exactly told him, but there she was, all sweet and cuddly with her  _ girlfriend.  _ If Edelgard trusted her, Hubert had to, too. 

Still. Since their relationship had been confirmed, he had been even more  _ alert  _ than usually. 

Which actually meant that he had been actively following Byleth around. Yes, he was supposed to be Edelgard's shadow, but those two tasks didn't contradict each other as they were together most of the time. 

He had to be there. Watching. It was his duty. Hubert had to protect be there to Edelgard. And now, trying to be more stealthy than ever, as if Byleth noted him she wouldn't behave like she would normally. 

Every alarm on Hubert's mind went off that day at the docks. 

He had been standing on top of the stairs, looking, watching. Spying. Byleth and Edelgard were down there, hugging and talking in whispers. Everything seemed fine at the beginning. 

Then, Byleth made an abrupt movement and threw Edelgard into the water. She was trying to drown her! Of course! 

As Byleth jumped right after her, clearly to fulfill her task of killing the Andrestian Empress, Hubert almost jumped the banister as he threw his most powerful Hades aiming at Byleth. 

But it hit late, he realized. Byleth came out of the water unscathed and made no sign of trying to drown Edelgard, who had emerged not even a second before Hubert's spell had hit the surface of the water. 

“ _ BYLETH! _ ” She had screamed, but she was turned towards Hubert.

Edelgard had looked up. She had been looking straight at Hubert. Hubert, who stood still and proud once their ex-professor emerged, apparently ignorant to what had just happened. 

Okay, fine. Maybe Byleth hadn't been trying to kill Edelgard that one time. That didn't immediately turn her into a saint, though. She was still trying to gain Edelgard's trust, probably. 

Hubert was starting to consider that perhaps Byleth wasn’t a traitor. But then, she was the one who suggested to spare that Claude von Riegan and the rest of their old classmates after the battle of Derdriu. And yes, the idea of killing them also pained Hubert, but he felt himself more inclined to do that than to risk Edelgard’s life and the success of their campaign. 

Yet, everyone had been forgiven at Byleth’s suggestion. Very traitor of her, Hubert thought.

And then, they had had a celebration dinner. To celebrate their victory, sure.

Hubert had been…  _ a little bit distracted _ . Just a little bit. Ferdinand had been giving him looks from the other end of the table. Hubert’s position was a little bit odd considering he was so close to Edelgard, but as her retainer he preferred to be on a specific place from where he could surveil the entirety of the dining hall.

If he could see everything, he could prevent any…  _ accident _ .

Or, he would have been able to if Ferdinand hadn’t been  _ looking at him like that _ .

It was the unmistakable coughs of his Empress what brought him back to reality,

_ (Oh, no.) _

Without even thinking, Hubert threw what he had in his hand directly towards Byleth. That thing happened to be a knife. A knife directed towards Byleth head.

...It didn’t got to her. As fast as Hubert had thrown the knife, Byleth had leaned forward and was attending Edelgard. The knife was now sticking out of the wall behind Byleth. People were looking at him. People were looking at Byleth and Edelgard who, thankfully, now seemed to have recovered her composure.

“Sorry— Too much water— Don’t worry about me, it just— went the other way—”

Water. It had been the water. 

…

_ (Had it?) _

Hubert spaced out until they had both left the dining hall, and then stood up. People were still looking at him.

“Dude,  _ what the fuck _ ?” Caspar asked out loud. Hubert didn’t answer. Ferdinand sighed, and Dorothea was piercing him with her eyes.

He could bear that. But now—

Not even bothering to answer or making a single sound, Hubert turned around and left the hall just after the Empress and Byleth.

And then, he merged with the night.

  
  


\---

  
  


Hubert had been standing in front of Edelgard’s room for over half an hour.

He had followed them, of course. He had to. He had seen them both enter Edelgard’s room. That had activated every alarm. Again. His Empress, so naive… locking herself in her room with a likely enemy…

Yes, Byleth was her girlfriend. Yes, Byleth was a likely enemy.

And yet… And yet Hubert hadn’t heard any suspicious sounds. He could definitely hear them talking. A few laughs here and there. Kisses.

_ (Yes, he had his ear pressed against the wooden door. No shame _ . _ Whatever he had to do to protect Edelgard.) _

Hubert never got tired. He wasn’t tired if Edelgard was in danger. He would stand there the whole night if it was necessary. Giving them room, but if anything happened, if anything sounded a little bit off, if just—

One hour later. It was when it finally  _ happened. _

  
  


\---

  
  


“Look at what you’ve done!” Edelgard sighed, pointing at the door.

Or, well, where the door had been five minutes before.

Byleth just observed the scene, the rat still squirming inside the blanket she had used to catch it.

She took a deep breath. No idea of what had happened, really. She had been cuddling with Edelgard. It had been good cuddling. The best cuddling. They were so comfortable, she had never seen El so relaxed until that moment. There had been occasional whispers, occasional laughs, shy circles drawn in each others backs with delicate fingers, fleeting pecks in each other’s eyelids, noses, lips.

Then Edelgard had stretched a little and had sat up, announcing she had to go to the bathroom. That she would be back in five minutes tops.

She hadn’t left the room, because just as she had stood up, she had screamed.

Byleth reaction had been immediate, she had jumped out of bed and had stood before Edelgard, protecting her.

The thing was, Byleth hadn’t been the one with an immediate reaction there.

The door to the room exploded as Hubert launched himself into the room.

Long story short, there was a rat in the room, Edelgard had screamed because she was scared of the animal, Hubert had been standing outside and came inside ready to fight and Byleth had found herself in the middle of it.

_ (Or, well. She thought that.) _

She had then captured the rat with a spare blanket as Edelgard had made Hubert sit on her bed, not even saying a word. Hubert wasn’t saying anything either, and his expression was quite indecipherable to Byleth.

“You were screaming, your Highness,” Hubert finally said, voice calm and deep. 

“And that was enough reason to blast my door open?”

“If the risk of you being in danger exists, yes.”

“And what could have happened to me  _ inside _ my room? A room which windows are sealed by five different protected spells? A room inside a heavily guarded monastery?” 

“To be fair,” Byleth interrupted. “There’s always a slight possibility of  _ someone _ getting inside. But, I mean…” She made a pause. Both were looking at her. And Hubert’s look was… weird. “Edelgard can defend herself. And I was also here. Oh, but you couldn’t know that…”

“Oh, but  _ he knew that _ ,” Edelgard turned again towards Hubert. Hubert, who didn’t say a thing.

Byleth blinked. Okay, they had left the hall together. But apart from that? Anyone could have thought they were going to their own rooms. It wasn’t that  _ obvious _ they were going to end up in the same room…

“He followed us. As he’s been doing the last two weeks,” Edelgard continued, as neither of the other two said anything.

Wait.

Wait.

_ (What?) _

“What?”

“He’s been following us because he doesn’t trust you, Byleth,” Edelgard declared.

…

Byleth’s mind was completely blank.

“How… do you know it…?” Byleth managed to utter.

“Because I’ve seen him. I’ve seen  _ everything _ he’s been doing,” Edelgard rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty used to having him around, it’s not difficult for me to detect him. And Hubert, I’m really thankful you worry so much for me, but sometimes I would really like to be alone with my girlfriend…”

“But we don’t know what are her intentions!” Hubert replied.

There was a long silence. The rat let out a screech.

“My… intentions?” Byleth echoed. “Do you mean… holding El’s hand and giving her cuddles…?”

“B-Byleth!” the room wasn’t very illuminated but Byleth  _ knew _ that had made Edelgard flush.

_ (But Byleth did! She only wanted Edelgard to feel loved and appreciated and good in general. She wanted to give her all the kisses in the world. First thing in her list of priorities.  _

_ Or, well, second, because—)  _

“Oh, sure, and I aim to lead us to victory,” Byleth added. Yeah, that too.

“And who says you really do?”

“ _ What? _ ” Byleth repeated.

“I do!” Edelgard said. “I say she’s helping us!”

“Your Highness, with all due respect, how are you so sure? She could be seducing you to gain your trust.”

_ (That… that was having too much faith in Byleth's abilities.  _

_ And, like…  _

_ What?)  _

“Wait. Wait,” Byleth made a knot on the blanket and let it on the floor. Then lifted both her hands. “Let me— Wait,” she massaged the bridge of her nose. “The thing here is that Hubert doesn’t… trust me?”

“Basically, yes,” Edelgard answered before Hubert could open his mouth.

“You could be sent by the enemy,” Hubert said.

“Oh, of course! After pulling that one on Rhea to defend us?” Edelgard huffed.

“It could all be a ruse,” Hubert insisted, although he looked less convinced.

_ (...A ruse.) _

“...Do you think Rhea has the patience to pull out a 5 year long ruse?” Byleth asked. “Seriously.”

Now both Hubert AND Edelgard were speechless. But really, Rhea? Having patience to do that? In this economy? 

Yes, that had been Byleth’s first thought.

“Also,” Byleth added, “you really think that if I really wanted to… seduce Edelgard or whatever to gain her trust…? That was what you were thinking, right? Do you think I would have been so  _ oblivious _ ?”

_ (Linhardt’s groan still resonated on her mind.) _

“That’s right. We’re lesbians, Hubert. Please,” Edelgard cleared her throat. Oh, she had turned red again.

“You could have been faking the obliviousness…” Hubert was just reaching at that point.

“Hubert, dear. That can’t be faked,” Edelgard sighed. “We really were  _ that dumb _ .”

_ (That didn't hurt because it was true. They were dumb.) _

“But—”

“Hubert, please,” Edelgard interrupted. “Just accept Byleth isn’t the enemy.”

A new silence. A new screech from the rat.

_ (Byleth was REALLY feeling bad about the poor rat. She just wanted to let it go somewhere outside the dorms area. At least out of Edelgard’s room. But the situation had turned out to be quite difficult.) _

“Fine,” Hubert sighed. “I… accept Byleth  _ might  _ not be a threat.”

“Hubert!”

“It’s my… it’s the best offer I’m willing to give,” Hubert straightened up.

“Hub—”

“Hey, it’s fine with me,” Byleth interrupted. “As long as he doesn’t blast more doors in the future, of course.”

“And doesn’t cast anything against the pond. And doesn’t throw any more knives,” Edelgard added.

“What?”

“I won’t do that again. Any of that,” Hubert accepted.

_ (Byleth felt as if she was missing a big part of the conversation there.) _

“And you’ll stop following us everywhere.”

“But—”

“You can follow us  _ occasionally.  _ That’s part of your job description, after all. But that’s it,” Edelgard deadpanned. “And you won’t be standing out of my room if Byleth is inside.”

Hubert didn’t answer.

“Hubert? Is that clear?” Edelgard insisted.

“...Yes, your Highness,” he finally accepted.

“Great,” now, Edelgard visibly relaxed. “I really value your protection, Hubert, don’t take this in the wrong way. But understand that this is just disrespecting Byleth and calling into question my judgment.”

“I understand. I crossed the line,” Hubert nodded. He actually looked ashamed. A little bit, at least.

“Okay, then this is settled,” Edelgard sighed once again. Then she turned towards Byleth, “I still have to go to the bathroom.”

“And I should take our little… not-friend to a not-dangerous place,” Byleth said, taking again the blanket with the screeching rat.

“As far as possible from me.”

“As far as possible from you,” Byleth agreed.

“But there’s a problem…” Edelgard turned towards the door.

Or, well, the remainders of the door.

“Sorry for that, your Highness,” Hubert said.

“Yeah… I know you’re,” Edelgard took a deep breath. “This isn’t going to get fixed tonight.”

“I’ll take care of it, your Highness. I’ll fix it with my own hands—”

“Please, don’t,” Edelgard said. “We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

“But—”

“Hubert.”

“What if you spend the night at my room?” Byleth intervened then. The other two turned towards her. “I mean. If you want. And if Hubert thinks it’s okay. I promise not to kill her?”

There was a chuckle on Edelgard’s part, “there are… actually many free rooms, aren’t there?”

“Yes, there are,” Byleth confirmed, thinking about all the Blue Lions that weren’t there anymore. Just for starters. The dorms was quite a big area. 

“I could pick any of those rooms, just for tonight.”

“Of course you could, El— Your Highness,” Byleth corrected herself once she saw Hubert’s face.

_ (He still didn't look happy. And okay, Byleth had never been scared of Hubert, but it ended up being a little bit uncomfortable.) _

“Then of course I’ll spend the night at your room,” Edelgard finally accepted.

“Your Highness—”

“Oh, please, Hubert—”

“I know, I know,” the man finally stood up, and then took a deep breath. He took care of folding the sheets of Edelgard’s bed, as if it had been his fault the bed wasn’t made. “I should be going, then. I—” another deep breath. “Anything you need, don’t hesitate to call me, your Highness.”

“Of course, Hubert. You’re dismissed,” Edelgard nodded, Hubert made a small reverence, and then left the room.

_ (Honestly, Byleth was still processing what had just happened. But the thing was, everything had ended up being alright, right? Even when she still didn’t know where did the knives fall in all of that. _

_ Hmm. She could question Edelgard later about what exactly had Hubert been doing.) _

Edelgard went to the bathroom. Byleth took the rat to the cemetery area. And they both reunited in front of Byleth’s room.

And surely, they spent the night there. Cuddling and sleeping. And after waking up seeing Edelgard’s face, Byleth decided that was how she wanted to wake up the rest of their life.

And yes, maybe they had lazed around for quite a while that morning and had almost arrived late to the war meeting. And maybe they had almost stumbled upon a suddenly grumpy Linhardt the next morning ( _ “Please, leave me alone. PLEASE” _ ). And maybe Hubert still looked funny at Byleth when she wasn’t looking back at him.

But the thing was, the door to Edelgard’s room was never repaired. There was no need to do that after that day.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a person who writes fluff. I'm not. Really. But then there's Edeleth. They make me write fluff. Or try to write fluff. And then there's Hubert who is just... Hubert. Worried Hubert. He needs to drink more tea, maybe he should call Ferdinand fOR ONCE.
> 
> Fun fact, it's canon Edelgard doesn't like to swim. It says that on her profile on the game. Something I didn't know. I only realized quite after writing that scene. So I had to re-write it a little. Maybe it's common knowledge around here but SURPRISE! I don't read fire emblem fics. I should, tho. I know I should.
> 
> Today, in "stuff my friends said about this when they read it in advance" we have:  
> @artsytargazer: "on the previous one i was feeling for lin and the second-hand embarrassment made me wish i could just disappear from this plane of existence but this time i was like. this close to manifest myself into this fic so i could throttle hubert. god the next time you give me editing privileges i am so manifesting myself into a fic to throttle hubert"  
> @_ARIenigena: "BYLETH,,, SHE JUST VIBING"  
> And yeah, those are exactly my feelings about this.
> 
> I've been in a writer's block for like a month and a half, which is the time we've been quarantined in Spain, more or less. So I think I have to be proud of AT LAST having been able to write SOMETHING that isn't so bad, right? Anyway. I have a Dimisylvix (is that how that trio is called?? yes??) Modern!AU in the works. Hopefully five short chapters, and this time it will be Ingrid's turn to be *tired*. I'm already writing the third chapter but I want to finish it before I start posting it. I think it's turning out pretty well!
> 
> Oh, and please take care. Social distancing is good. Wash your hands. Try to keep a routine. It kinda helps, I swear. 
> 
> Feel free to leave kudos or comments if you're feeling generous. You can also get mad at me at my twitter (same handle as here, ImNotAMarySue) for writing this amount of bullshit and make you read it. I will 100% understand it.


End file.
